


Only for the Weekend

by ekayla



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Slightly - Freeform, Teacher!Ben, The Wedding Date, Wedding date, Weddings, except Ben is a teacher and not an escort, libarian!rey, oh no what ever will they do, there's only one bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:35:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24723913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekayla/pseuds/ekayla
Summary: After her boyfriend dumped her a few months before her best friend's destination wedding, Rey decides to spare herself the embarrassment of showing up alone by having Ben be her wedding date. But wait, did she forget to mention that she told all her friends that Ben was her boyfriend? And forget to tell the hotel to switch the rooms from a king bed to one with two queens? Whoops... but hey, what's the harm? It's only for the weekend... right?
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	Only for the Weekend

Rey rushed through the high school doors, pushing her way through the crowded hallway. She’s late again, as it’s well past 7:30am. She made her way past all the students, speed-walking towards the library. Unlocking the door, she slid right in, shut it behind her, and took a deep breath. 

The library was quiet and peaceful, unlike the loud hallways of the school. Rey is the resident librarian, or the “media specialist” as they call the position nowadays. She’s fulfilling her lifelong dream of working with books, but when she accepted the job this school year, she didn’t realize a lot of the job required working with other types of media too. Or teachers, for that matter. Not that she wasn’t a social person, but she definitely preferred her social interactions to be on the page between characters, rather than face to face with actual people. 

She walked over to her giant desk, the one that wraps around the room, giving her a large area behind where students weren’t allowed to go. Rey set down her drink and surveyed the space. There was a rolling shelf full of books to be reshelved, as well as a stack of laptops on the desk that needed… something. Scratching her head, she figured she’d remind herself later what was wrong with them. 

A blonde woman about Rey’s age walked into the library, allowing the boisterous voices of the students to carry through the room for just a moment until the door shut again. Rey looked up and smiled.

“Late again, I see?” the woman said. 

Finally setting her things down, Rey protested. “The warning bell hasn’t even rang!” And just as she said the last word, the bell rang through the building. 

The blonde woman put a hand on her hip and looked at Rey. “Yeah, uh-huh. You better be careful, or you might get sent to the principal’s office!” A pause, then both women burst out laughing. 

“Kaydel, you are so stupid,” Rey said through her laughter.

“Girl, you know I don’t care how you live your life, as long as you make it here in one piece! Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. I’m here every day at 6:30am so that I can get some grading in before kids start showing up to the building, and some days even THAT still isn’t early enough.” 

“Well, I don’t have grading to do, so there’s that.” 

“Lucky bitch.” 

“Kay! Shhh!” Rey glanced around the library, hoping there wasn’t a quiet student just sitting at one of the tables and she just didn’t notice yet. 

“Oh whatever, these kids say worse things than that in the hallways every damn day.” she scoffed. 

Rey had to give her that one, she’d heard some pretty terrible things from students. Lucky for her, she only had to see them when they came into the library, whereas Kaydel was a math teacher and had to actually teach them. She’s even been cussed out before for giving bad grades, though it didn’t bother her. She’s as tough of a teacher as they come, but sweet too. Probably one of the reasons they became fast friends when Rey started working here back in August. Kaydel has her planning period first so she started making a habit of coming into the library to visit Rey for the first part of it. 

The bell rang, signifying the official start of the school day. Rey rolls the cart around and starts heading over to shelves of books. Kaydel trails along, which isn’t unusual. 

“So, do you have plans this weekend? I was thinking we could try out that new bar downtown, you could meet a man, I could find a lady… what do you say? Please say yes, this week is already draining me and I need to let loose.” 

Rey puts a couple books on the shelf in their correct places. “Okay first of all, it’s only Tuesday.” Kaydel let out a groan. “And second, I already told you. I’m taking off a couple hours early on Friday and will be gone until Monday for my best friend’s wedding. It’s in California.” 

“Oh yeah…” Kaydel groans again, draping herself over the top of a short bookcase. “Do you really have to go to that?” 

“Um, yeah, considering I’m the maid of honor, I really think it would be frowned upon if I skipped it.” Rey placed another book on the correct shelf, then rolled the cart a little further down the row. “But it’s not like I wouldn’t if I could. It’s going to be so embarrassing, seeing all my friends from college, seeing my ex… and I don’t even have a date.” 

Kaydel sat up and moved down to be across from Rey again. “Why don’t you?” 

“Well, as you well know, five months ago I DID have a date, but since he broke up with me, I’m flying solo. Literally. And I still have his plane ticket and everything. God, this is going to be the worst.” she griped, lightly hitting a book against her forehead. 

Suddenly, Kaydel slammed her hand on the top of the bookshelf, startling Rey to look up at her. “I’ve got a brilliant idea, Rey. But you’re going to have to trust me.” 

“Oh no, what does that mean? Is it like your ‘brilliant’ idea to pretend to be an engaged couple so that we could try a bunch of free wedding cakes? Or like the time you had a ‘brilliant’ idea to sneak backstage at the Taylor Swift concert? Because none of those ‘brilliant’ ideas turned out well, need I remind you.” 

Kaydel rolled her eyes. “Those were both FUN ideas, and look, now you have some great stories to tell. But no, this really is a great idea. I know someone I can ask to be your wedding date!” 

Rey picked up another book from the cart and squatted to find it’s spot on the shelf. “Oh, yeah, Kay, I don’t know about that.” 

“Trust me, he’s perfect. He’s tall, he’s single, and I know for a fact he’s free this weekend because he doesn’t do anything on weekends, except play whatever that dragon game is that you play.” 

“Wait, he plays Dungeons and Dragons?” Rey perked up. She loved that game, but she hadn’t played it since her days in college. 

“Yeah, that one.” 

“I don’t know, I just think it would be kind of weird to invite someone I don’t know to fly with me to a wedding weekend for people HE doesn’t know.” Rey pointed out.

Kaydel glanced up at the large analog clock on the wall, and started walking towards the door. “Shit, I gotta get back to my classroom, but think about it! I’ll see you later, Rey!” 

Rey waved goodbye, then set back to reshelving the cart. Going to her best friend’s wedding with a stranger? She never would have suggested that on her own, but maybe Kaydel was onto something. It wasn’t that she needed a man, she was perfectly happy on her own. But her friends… they spent so much time in their college years trying to set Rey up with guys. Every now and then, one would stick for a few months, but none lasted more than a year. She knew her friends just wanted her to be happy, but they seemed to miss that she was. Even still, she just couldn’t take seeing them all again in one place, all the comments about her love life being non-existent, the questions of who she was (or was not) seeing, and especially the sad pitiful looks she often received when showing up to these types of things alone. So, maybe she wouldn’t protest too much if Kaydel wanted to ask her friend to be Rey’s date. After all, it would only be for the weekend, right? 

\--

Alderaan High wasn’t a very large school, with only about 1,500 students and maybe 100 staff. The math department had four teachers: Kaydel Connix, Teacher #1, Teacher #2, and Benjamin Solo. Because the other two were much older and didn’t really have a lot in common with her, Kaydel quickly bonded with Ben during their first weeks of training at the beginning of the year. Ben always laughed at her references that went straight over their coworkers’ heads, and they ended up eating lunch together that entire week. Although this wasn’t Ben’s first year teaching, it was his first year at this school, and he was thankful to have a fast friend in Kaydel. 

What he wasn’t thankful for was how often she burst into his classroom during his lunch break. He liked to enjoy that time in peace and quiet, something of a rarity in a high school, but that’s just not how Kaydel rolled. 

“BEN-JA-MIN,” she announced when she entered his classroom. Ben was sitting at his desk, looking over students’ papers and eating a ham and cheese sandwich, the same thing he’s eaten every day since he started working as a teacher. 

“What?” he muffled with his mouth full of the bite he’d just taken, without looking up from the paper he was grading.

“Put down the tests and bow down to your queen.” Kaydel walked over and sat on the end of his desk, forcing Ben to do what she said. 

He swallowed his bite. “Um, what are you talking about?” 

“I just talked to Rey, and she is in desperate need of someone to be her date to a wedding she’s going to this weekend.” 

“And that has to do with me because…?” 

“Because BENJAMIN, I happen to know you have a little crush on said librarian,” she said as she poked him in the shoulder, causing him to wince, “and this is the perfect way to get to know her! Come to her rescue, be her knight in shining armor and all that shit. Be her date to the wedding.” 

Ben took another bite of his sandwich. “First of all, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve barely said two words to Rey, I hardly go in the library where she works. Which brings me to my second point: she doesn’t even know me, so why would she want me to be her date?” He paused, thinking for a second. Kaydel wasn’t exactly _wrong_. On his very first day, he noticed Rey in the hallways at school, always rushing to get through the hordes of students, keeping her head down. She was of petite stature, so she could squeeze through fairly easily, unlike Ben who towered over everyone. Her hair was in a bun on the top of her head, with little stray hairs framing the sides of her small delicate face. 

“Ben?” Kaydel’s voice jerked him back to reality. “Come on, you gotta do it. She needs a date, and this is the perfect opportunity for you to finally stop your pining and make a move!” 

He took a breath. “Alright. I’ll do it. When is the wedding?” 

“She said she leaves right after school on Friday and you’ll have to find a sub for Monday.” 

Ben almost dropped his sandwich. “Wait, it’s a whole weekend?” 

“Yep!” Kaydel stood up just as the warning bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. “I’ll let her know that you’re down to be her savior!” she said over her shoulder as she skipped out of the room. 

Ben lifted his hand to his forehead and let out an exasperated breath, wondering what he’d just gotten himself into. 

\-- 

The bell rang for the end of the day, and Rey gathered up her belongings but decided to wait until the halls cleared a bit before she left. She sat at her desk, scrolling through her phone. Almost every Facebook post she passed had something to do with relationships, marriage or babies. After a few seconds, she couldn’t take it anymore and closed the app. Maybe Instagram would be better. As soon as she opened it, she realized how terribly wrong she was. Weddings, couples, babies. All the same. This time she closed her phone completely, reconsidering even being on social media all together. Maybe she should just delete her profiles. This was stupid, these kinds of things normally didn’t bother her. She liked keeping up with old friends through social media, including the millions of pictures they posted a day of their children. There was just something different recently, something that hit her hard whenever she saw people in a different stage of life than her, happy and not alone. 

She threw her phone in her purse, then headed out through the much less crowded halls to her car and off to home.

Rey’s apartment was small and simple, as she didn’t get paid much working as a high school librarian. Honestly, no one in schools got paid nearly as much as they should, but she didn’t mind it too much. After all, it was just her. She didn’t have to provide for a family or anything. She hung her bag on the hook by the front door and immediately went to change clothes. 

Minutes later, she was in her favorite pair of black leggings and a green V-neck tee shirt and wandered into the kitchen to make a snack. She was always hungry by the time she got home from work, probably because her lunch was so early in the day. Rey quickly opened the fridge and grabbed the bag of grapes sitting inside. Shutting the door, she tried not to look at the reminder of her singleness pinned on the front, but she failed. Standing there in her kitchen, she stared at the wedding invitation stuck on the fridge with a magnet. “Rose Tico and Finn Storm request the honor of your presence at their wedding” written in beautiful calligraphy with pink and light orange roses accenting the words. The RSVP card was missing. Unfortunately, she’d already sent it in months ago. Rey Johnson and one guest. Back when she was still dating Armitage.

Rey continued to stare at the invitation, tilting her head to the side as she thought about what Kaydel said that morning. Maybe she should take her up on her offer to find her a date. That way, people wouldn’t have to ask what happened to Armie, or the break up, or the fact that she was 27 and alone at her best friend’s wedding. She groaned, then went straight to the couch with her grapes, hoping that binging Avatar the Last Airbender would cause her to forget, if only for a little bit.

\--

Wednesday morning staff meetings were usually boring, but for some reason today it was exceptionally dull. Rey sat next to Kaydel, who had a venti Starbucks coffee in her hand. One of the administrators was droning on and on about the standardized tests coming up soon, but Rey couldn’t pay attention. Her mind was lost in thought, letting Kaydel’s proposal swim around and around. She was so close to telling her friend that she was insane and there was no way she would take a random guy with her this coming weekend. And yet, a small voice in her head, one that had been dormant for so long, kept whispering “Why not?”

Finally, the meeting ended and the girls stood up from their seats. 

“So, have you thought about it?” Kaydel raised her eyebrows. 

Rey took a breath and paused. Suddenly, she heard herself saying, “Yes.” 

“Yes? Like you wanna do it?” 

“Yes, I want to do it. Ask your friend. I’m not going to this wedding alone.” 

Kaydel’s eyes widened, then she squealed and pulled Rey in for a hug. 

“What is this for?” Rey laughed. 

“Girl, you will NOT regret this. I just want to see you happy, and after what that jerk did to you before- I’m just glad you’re going to this wedding with a hot man on your arm.” She winked. 

“Wait, who is this guy?” 

By this time, most everyone of the staff had left the meeting, leaving Kaydel and Rey in the cafeteria with a couple lunch ladies starting their days. Kaydel started walking towards the hallway, Rey following. “Okay, his name is Ben. Ben Solo. You know him, right?” 

Rey thought for a moment, then a wave of realisation swept over her face. She grabbed Kaydel’s arm. “Hold up, you mean the super quiet guy that works with you in the math department?” 

Kaydel rolled her eyes. “Yes, but he’s actually really cool. And he’s sweet, and he already said he would do it.” 

“YOU ASKED HIM ALREADY?” she exploded. 

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fiiiiiine.” Kaydel was unbothered. 

Rey stopped walking and put her face in her hands. “Oh god, this is so embarrassing.” She composed herself. “But it’s done. I need a date, and he said yes. I just hope he knows how to dance.” They both laughed at that, then went their separate ways to start the day. 

\--

The next day was unusually busy in the library. All morning, students were constantly filtering in and out, asking Rey for all sorts of things. Kids asked her for resources on Vikings, lemurs, 18th century royalty, everything. Luckily, by lunch, everyone was hungry enough to stay in the cafeteria and leave the library empty so that Rey could finally breathe. 

Just as she popped her leftovers into the microwave, she heard the door open. “Just a minute!” she called to the person she assumed was a student. Picking up a stack of books, she walked them over to the cart across the room on the other side of the counter, without looking towards the door.

“No worries, take your time.” The voice was deep and gruff, definitely not one that belonged to a student. Rey whipped around to face the visitor, dropping the books on the floor as soon as she saw him. He was tall, very tall, and just overall… large. He had black hair and dark brown eyes, a familiar face that she was sure she had seen around the school, but the voice confirmed they’d never spoken to one another. A little flutter stirred within her. 

As soon as the books fell, the man bent down to help gather them up. Rey squatted too, hoping to hide her flushed cheeks. “Sorry, I thought you were a student. They’ve been coming in all morning, more than usual.” 

“Are you okay?” As gruff as his voice sounded before, it was as gentle now. Concerned, even. 

“Yeah, sorry, I was just a little startled to see such a… tall man instead of a student, that’s all, ha!” She let out a little laugh to try to ease his concern, which only seemed to lighten slightly. 

“No need to be sorry, I get it. Sometimes I forget how much of a giant I am, especially to tiny women like you .” He smiles big, causing Rey to laugh genuinely this time, and she swears the flutter grew a little bit stronger. 

“Yeah, okay! Well I might be tiny, but I can throw a mean punch!” she teases. “So, um, anyways, what can I help you with, Mr…” 

“Solo. Ben.” 

“Mr. Solo-ben. Right.” 

The tips of his ears turned to a pinkish hue. “No, sorry, my name is Ben Solo. I just meant, you can call me Ben.” 

“Oh, sorry! Of course.” Rey giggled a little, feeling the stress of the morning leave in the smile that formed on her face. “I’m Ms. Johnson, or Rey.” She instinctively held out her hand to him. 

Ben stared at her hand before gently taking it in his own. It was warm and soft, and she gave a stronger squeeze than he had expected, judging by her petite size. After a second, the microwave beeped, and he felt Rey’s grip loosened and he let go, letting their hands drop to their sides. Rey cleared her throat and walked back behind the counter. “Right, so um, what can I do for you, Ben? Are you here to pick up the new set of graphing calculator’s for your class? Or is that another teacher? I can’t remember.” She turned back around to face the microwave. 

“As much as I would love a new set for my class, I’m actually here because you know my friend, Ms. Connix- I mean, Kaydel.” 

Rey froze. Is this the guy Kaydel said would be her date? Or was he talking to her for something else, something school related? She didn’t want to risk it, she didn’t want to assume anything. She took a few seconds to gain her composure, then she turned around. 

“Yeah, I’m friends with Kaydel.” she said softly. “What about her?” 

She was going to make him say it. Although her body was calm, he could tell by the bit of panic in her eyes that she knew what he was about to bring up. He hoped it would go over well, and that she would want him to accompany her to the wedding, now that she’d seen him and actually talked to him. 

“Well, you see, she mentioned to me that you might need… a wedding date? Is that still the case? I’m more than happy to accompany you this weekend, if you’d like.” 

“Oh, uh, yeah actually, I would. That would be great. Did Kaydel tell you anything about the wedding, like where it was or how long it would be? It’s kind of a last minute commitment.”

Ben picked up a loose rubber band that was sitting on the counter and began pulling it between his fingers. “Yeah, she told me a bit. How it’s for the entire weekend, I’ll need a substitute on Monday, and it’s in California, right?”

Rey nodded. “Okay, I see she told you basically everything. Is that okay? You won’t have to pay for anything, the plane ticket and hotel are already covered. Look at it as a free mini-vacation. When we aren’t at wedding stuff, you’re more than welcome to explore the area on your own or do whatever you want. It’s supposed to be a really beautiful location.” 

“That’s all fine with me, it sounds like a fun adventure. And I’ll be helping yo- someone out, which is always something I try to do. Help people, that is. It’s a win-win.” He looked down at his hands as he pulled the rubber band until it stretched as far as it would go. He hated that he sounded like he was trying to be a “good person”, but he couldn’t really tell her he was doing this because he had a crush on her and had for months, now could he? 

A corner of Rey’s mouth lifted. “Okay, so it’s settled. You’ll come with me to my friend’s wedding this weekend. We need to leave for the airport right after school tomorrow, is that okay?”

“Absolutely.” As soon as he finished speaking, the rubber band in his hand broke and flung itself across the room. “Shit! Sorry!” 

“Relax, it’s just a rubber band.” Rey chuckled. 

Ben lifted a hand to the back of his neck. “Alright, so tomorrow, packed and ready to go. I’ll let you get back to your lunch.” And with that, he walked towards the door and out of the library. 

\--

That night, Rey could barely sleep. She’d packed everything she needed, plus what she thought she might need, and she was sure she even packed a few things she didn’t need. It wasn’t that she was nervous, it’s just that she was… nervous. And anxious. And, though she wouldn’t want to admit it, she was a tad scared. Just before ten o’clock, her phone rang. 

“Hello?”

“Rey!” Rose practically screamed into the phone. “I am so freaking excited to see you tomorrow!” 

Rey couldn’t help but let out a yawn. “Yeah, me too.”

“Oh my god, it’s like, midnight there, isn’t it? I totally forgot about the time difference. I’m so sorry!” Although she didn’t sound completely sincere in the moment, Rey knew it was a genuine mistake. Whenever they plan phone calls or facetime dates, Rose was always careful to check the time difference. “The wedding has basically taken over my life, and it’s driving me crazy!” 

“It’s okay, it’s only ten. I was about to go to bed, but honestly I’d rather talk to you. I can’t wait to be on the same coast as you and Finn! I miss you guys. I’m sorry the wedding has been driving you crazy!” 

“Oh it’s fiiiiiine,” she said, mostly trying to convince herself. “It’s stressful now, but it’ll be worth it when I marry my best friend.” Rey coughed into the phone. “MY OTHER BEST FRIEND, geez! Ugh, I really can’t wait to see you. And you’re bringing the boyfriend, right??”

Suddenly it felt like a frog had been caught in Rey’s throat. “My-my boyfriend?” Shit, she forgot that she hadn’t told Rose about the break-up. When it’d happened, Rose was neck deep in wedding planning, and Rey didn’t want to take away any part of the spotlight from her friend. She figured she’d tell her eventually. Clearly, she didn’t think this through, because now was _not_ the time to tell her, nor did she really want to. Rey wasn’t about to make her best friend mad at her right before her wedding. Thank God she had Ben. 

“Right, my boyfriend.” She continued as if nothing had happened.

“I can’t wait to meet him! What was his name again?”

Perfect. This was all too perfect. “Oh, um, Ben. His name is Ben Solo.” 

“Oh that’s right! Well I can’t wait to meet this Ben Solo, I plan to make sure he’s worthy of Rey Johnson’s love and attention.” She giggled. 

“My l-love? No no no, we like, JUST started dating.” Well, that was the closest thing to the truth so far. Although she’d never been a religious person, she prayed to God that Ben would play along with her this weekend. “But I love YOU, Rose! And I also love sleep. So I probably should go. But I will see you tomorrow!” Rose squealed into the phone. “Goodnight, Rosie!”

“Goodnight Rey! Have a safe flight!” Rey hung up the phone. She crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling in the dark, hoping that she didn’t just make everything worse. 

\--

Friday seemed to go on for what felt like eternity. It was rather slow in the library, unlike the previous day, but the slowness only gave Rey more opportunities to think about what was coming. Like how she was going to have to tell Ben sometime that day that all of her friends thought he was her boyfriend. And she would have to ask him to help her keep up the facade. 

After what felt like years, the last bell of the day rang through the halls, signalling for the end of the day for not only the kids, but other staff like Rey as well. She finished gathering her things, and decided to go find Ben in his classroom. She didn’t know exactly where his classroom was, but each department had a hallway or section of a hallway that all their classrooms were together. She knew Ben was a math teacher, so she figured she could poke her head around and find him with no problem. She walked the hall and found him sitting at a desk in the first classroom she peeked into. Ben didn’t notice her as he was focused on the papers in front of him.

Rey coughed to make her presence known. “Hi, Ben.”

He looked up in surprise to see her standing there in the doorway. “Oh, Rey! Hi, come on in. I’m just finishing up some grading.” He waved her into the classroom then turned his attention back to the papers. “I have my bags packed in my car, all ready to go. I’ll be ready in just…” He marked something on the paper, “...a minute.” 

Rey went over to a desk in the front row and sat down. She felt a little weird, like she was back in school again. She placed her hands together on the desk and started looking around the room. There weren’t many posters or anything on the white walls, honestly the classroom was kind of boring. There was a giant whiteboard that took up most of the front wall of the room, and on the right side it was sectioned off for “daily objective”, “essential question”, and “warm up”, all written in beautiful handwriting. The main part of the board had what was left of the day’s lesson which was also written clear and elegant. Rey wasn’t one for gender stereotypes, but she was still a bit shocked to see a man’s handwriting this well done. 

“Alright, that was the last test.” Ben stated as he stacked the papers together and stood up. “Are you ready?” He gave Rey a small smile, almost like he was excited to go. 

She knew she needed to tell him about what she and Rose talked about on the phone, but when she tried to speak, the only thing that came out was, “Yep!” 

Rey stood up and they began walking towards the parking lot. 

“So, you said you have a ticket for me, right?” Ben inquired as they walked out of the school. 

“Yeah, I transferred it over to your name already. I’ve got it in my bag. It’s not first class or anything, it’s just economy, I hope that’s okay.” 

Ben smiled. “Yeah that’s fine with me. I don’t think I’ve ever flown first class anyways.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Rey laughed. She felt all the nerves from earlier in the day start to fall away as they talked. 

They stopped by Ben’s car first, a silver Toyota RAV4. He grabbed his bag out of the back, one small piece of luggage on wheels. 

“That’s all your bringing?” Rey winced, and was now a little embarrassed for Ben to see how many bags _she_ brought. 

“Yeah, I don’t need much, I guess. But I also have my backpack too.” He pulled a black backpack out of the front seat before he closed the door and locked the car. Luckily, since he worked here, he had gotten permission to leave his car here until Monday. 

They walk over to Rey’s car, a (car type, 4 door sedan with a trunk). Right after work the day before, she cleaned it out from top to bottom, knowing that Ben would be riding with her to the airport. There was no way she would let him see how many takeout cups she had in there. Rey wasn’t sure why she was so anxious to have Ben in her car, but she was. 

As Ben went for the trunk, Rey almost shouted. “No!” He stopped, and gave her a confusing look. “I mean, we can put your bags in the backseat.” Ben raised his eyebrows but didn’t protest. He opened the passenger door and tossed his things inside. 

As they got inside, Rey noticed that Ben’s knees were very much bent and tried hard not to laugh. “Oh, sorry. You can adjust the seat.” A smile escaped her lips, and Ben was aware. She almost forgot he was basically a giant.

“Thanks.” He chuckled as he scooted the seat back. “I know, I’m tall. I need a lot more space than the average person.” 

“You don’t say.” Rey looked over at him with a glimmer in her hazel eyes. 

\-- 

They arrived at the airport with no trouble, even made it past security in record time. Normally, Rey would be stoked that this happened; but today, she kind of wished there was less down time waiting on their flight. That would mean less awkward silences that she felt like she needed to fill with small talk. 

As they walked through the terminal towards the gates, Ben spotted a store selling snacks and other airport essentials, like extra headphones and phone chargers at ridiculous prices.

“Do you mind?” He pointed towards the shop. He hadn’t eaten since lunch that day, and it was nearing five o’clock. 

Rey nodded. Although she was a bit hungry herself, she decided she’d rather save her money and eat when she got to California. She opted to wait on a bench just outside the store. Ben, on the other hand, thought very differently. Minutes later, he walked out with a bag full of items: a small can of Pringles, Skittles, M&M’s, trail mix, and Chex Mix. 

“Good God, did you buy the entire stock?” Rey couldn’t help herself from her thoughts pouring off her lips. 

“Hey, flying in airports is the only time I allow myself such snack foods! I haven’t flown anywhere in just about a year - I’ve earned these.” He popped open the can of Pringles and ate one as they continued walking. 

“So, I take it you don’t fly often?” 

“Not really. I used to at least once a year, to see my parents for the holidays, but not so much anymore.” His words were slightly muffled by his full mouth. 

“Why not so much?” As soon as the words came out of her, she back peddled. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that, especially if it’s too personal.” She scanned the area for their gate number, spotting it just down the way. 

“No, it’s fine, really. I’m kind of in a… rough patch with my parents. They don’t really agree with me being a teacher, they’ve always wanted me to do something that makes more money. I guess they mean well, they want me to be able to support myself, but I support myself just fine with my salary now. I’m just tired of them not accepting me for who I am and what I want to do with my life.” Ben looks down at his feet, a little surprised all of that came out so easily. 

Rey took a moment for a breath before speaking. “Wow, Ben, that's really brave. Standing up for what you want. Not a lot of people do that. I’m really sorry your parents don’t respect what you choose to do for a living. That’s hard.” Rey looked up at Ben, offering a weak smile and wishing she could squeeze his hand. “Oh, here’s our gate.” He pointed up at the number before finding a couple of seats for them. 

“Anyways,” he continued, “I haven’t been out to see them in a couple years. But I’m okay, I have my friends.” 

“Well, that’s good.”

“Speaking of friends, tell me about yours, the ones getting married, right?”

The moment Rey dreaded had arrived. She had to tell him about Rose. 

“Oh, y-yeah. So, it’s actually my two best friends from college that are marrying each other - Rose and Finn. They started dating at the end of our freshman year, it was really cute. Anyways, um, yeah, they were both engineering majors, not sure why they clung onto me, the library science major, but I’m really glad they did. I don’t know how I would have gotten through college without them.” 

“So, I have to confess something to you, and it might make things weird but I think you need to know, it’s not a big deal, it’s just something I told Rose-” 

“Rey, you’re rambling. Just tell me.” 

She looked down at her hands. “I might have let Rose believe that you are my boyfriend.”

A beat went by. Then another. 

“Ben?”

His eyes met hers. “Wait, what? What do you mean you ‘let’ her believe that? And why?” 

“Well, I was talking to her on the phone, and she asked me if I was bringing my boyfriend and how she was so excited to meet him, and I just couldn’t tell her that he’d broken up with me a few months ago. It’s her wedding weekend, and I didn’t want to bring it down with my depressing news, plus she would be worried the entire time if _I_ was okay, which she shouldn’t do because she’s always taking care of me. And this weekend is her turn to be taken care of, so in the heat of the moment I said yes, and that he was you.” Rey finally took a breath. 

Ben sat there for a moment, taking in all that Rey had just said. 


End file.
